Curriculum Curriculum Curriculum Curriculum

Target Areas
KS 3 or 4
Resistant Materials
Kick Starting Engineering Excellence
Stub Axle Design Material properties and processing

GCSE Engineering
Task:
Unit 1
To design the stub axles for your Formula Schools car.
Specifications and Engineering
drawings
Introduction
Unit 2
Stub axles make the car steer. They allow the front wheels to rotate from side to
Production planning, Choosing
side to make the car go around corners.
materials, Using processes
Health and Safety
Research Section
Unit 3
What factors influence the design of the stub axles? Including other components
Key Skills
that will fit into the stub axle.
Communication, Number, IT
List materials considered and joining methods for those materials.
What type of front suspension are you using? Will that front suspension change
the stub axle design? What stops the stub axles from spinning with the wheels?
How are you going to make them? How do car manufacturers solve the
problems?
What are the key design elements the stub axle had to have?
Strength Working drawing
Wear or friction
Ease of manufacture
For each question give your reasons for the choices you have made.

Design Section
Draft a specification for the stub axles using all the research material you have
gathered. Scale or size your components for the car you are building.
Material availability for the stub axle and king pin arrangement.
Processing availability and order of manufacture.

The initial design should be done in conjunction with the King Pin design to get
the central hole the correct diameter. Sketch out different designs on a page and
evaluate each one from the list of questions you have identified in the research
section. The stock material has to be considered at each stage of the design.
What finish are you going to apply to the finished component? Would corrosion be
an issue?
Produce full working drawing for the component by hand or using a CAD system.

Manufacturing Section
Produce a list of the sequence of operations to turn the stock material into the
stub axle.
If you are going to cast the component then a pattern has first to be made.
Using specified stock material use appropriate machine to drill the hole for the
king pin and check the internal diameter. Turn the stub axle using appropriate a
machine so that the diameter is the same or smaller than the internal diameter of
the wheel.
Check component against the supplied wheel.

Health and safety

Carry out a risk assessment on the main process you plan to use to produce the
stub axle. Consider the following; materials, machine, tools, environment, training,
protective equipment, and action if a problem occurs.

a Stub axle
b Assembly with stub
housing

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